A Collaboration of Two Taylor's Make 'TAYLOR MADE'

Logo design created by myself. Digital in Photoshop

I am very excited to announce, to all those who are not yet aware, that I have recently become part of a collaboration with a very talented local photographer of West Yorkshire, Alex Taylor. We have named our collaboration 'Taylor Made Arts' due to our shared surnames of 'Taylor' (coincidentally the same might I add and not related!).

Since we began in July 2014, we have produced several works based on the idea of combining two different practices, photography and illustration to create new and unique imagery. Photography and illustration has been combined many times before, but I would like to emphasize how the local imagery and illustrative style of Taylor Made is completely fresh and innovative.

We are very proud of what we have achieved so far! Here are the stages of the process we took to create our very first image:


Step 1: Photograph

Alex, the amazing photographer of 'Taylor Made' captures the local scenery in West Yorkshire through his lens.

For our first image, I was allowed choose an image from any of his existing photography - one lucky illustrator! Therefore, I chose a beautiful image named 'Blue Bell Birch'. Vibrant tones particularly stood out to me, I couldn't wait to illustrate the image!

Alex Taylor's, 'Blue Bell Birch'

Step 2: Illustration

This is where my role in the collaboration begins: the illustration.

The technique I chose for this piece was mono-printing with acrylic to mimic the vibrancy of the blue bells in the original photograph. Then, I added in more detail with charcoal to bring out the features of the tree trunk. The contrast creates a strong illustration but more importantly I have not just copied the image, I have re-invented it with the choice of media and style.

Blue Bell Birch, illustration by Carla Taylor

Step 3: Merge

In the final stage, the original photograph and illustration are merged in Photoshop to create an entirely new and unique image. Here I demonstrate the process which I undertake to create this new work of art:

Open photograph in Photoshop (CS6)

Scan in illustration and place over the photograph (file-place).  The opacity was reduced to reveal part of the photo, then the image was rotated to align the tree trunk in both the photo and illustration. 

Creating a layer mask allows that particular layer to be manipulated. This allowed me to use the gradient tool to fade in the edges of the illustration to create a softer look.

Using the curve layer, I altered the brightness and contrast until I was happy that the two images merged together effectively.

Finally, reducing the saturation made the tones softer and subtle.

Final Image

And there we have it, Taylor Made's first ever image! I hope you enjoyed learning about the process in which the final image was created.

In general, this is the main process that is followed with each Taylor Made image, though of course the imagery can change including the way the illustration and photograph are merged in Photoshop. I can only speak about the illustration and merged image in regards to how they are made, though I know Alex will also use his creative eye to create unique and captivating imagery.


Personally, I am very excited about the upcoming projects for Taylor Made though I am proud of what we have achieved so far. Have a look at ALL of Taylor Made's artwork so far on our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter.


There is more to come!



Thanks for reading,

Carla

Biomimicry in Watercolour

Using the loose technique of watercolour I had adopted earlier in the project, I used this to re-invent previous known products and inspirations of biomimicry. I decided to illustrate previous inventions of biomimicry in order to 'celebrate' the innovations we already know, or may not be aware of, so that the future of biomimicry can be supported and admired as a process of innovation.

Nature has inspired and keeps on inspiring innovations with a title of biomimicry, and I feel that it is important that everyone understands how important nature is as part of the future of innovation.

Here are some initial watercolours inspired by various inventions of biomimicry:


The Wright Brothers invented the plane in 1903 after studying the movement of birds, in particular turkey vultures. This phenomenon has enhanced transport centuries later, all studied from the movement of birds in nature.

The Wright Brothers invented the plane after being inspired by a turkey vulture.

The 'Flex-Foot' was invented by Van Phillips in 1984 after he lost his foot in an accident at just 21 years old. Today, the 'Flex-Foot' is used by 90% of Paralympian athletes therefore I have illustrated this innovation in watercolour as a 'celebration' of biomimicry.

Van Phillips invented the 'Flex-Foot' after being inspired by the hind legs of a cheetah.

The Eastgate Centre in Harare, Zimbabwe was designed by architect, Mick Pearce after being inspired by termite mounds which use a complex ventilation system, enabling natural air conditioning and heating of buildings without installing costly systems.

Mick Pearce inspired by termite mounds for his design of the Eastgate Centre, Zimbabwe.

After showing these illustrations at my formative assessment, the tutor, Christian Lloyd, suggesting that they could be a lot more abstract and less literal to become more effective as stand alone pieces. The paper was also an issue of quality, so for future watercolour paintings I will use watercolour paper as it can hold the colour and water better than standard cartridge paper. It was also suggested that I look at some more watercolour artists to gain inspiration and knowledge about current trends in watercolour illustration.

Photoshop Manipulation

Putting the cheetah/ paralympian watercolour image in Photoshop allowed me to define the line and brighten the tones to make it stand out more. However, manipulating the image this much has made the watercolour lose its subtle edges and blending of tones.







Using Photoshop, I was able to create a larger image with a mixture of all 3 images. To create this, I used the layer mask tool so I could overlay a gradient over the layers to make them blend into each other. This could be used as a mural in the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre, printed on a large scale and placed on the wall as a mural sticker so the watercolour wouldn't lose its subtlety.

Second Visit to 3M Buckley Innovation Centre

As a course, we visited the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre for the first time. Even though I had already looked around the accessible parts of the building, this visit allowed us to view more of the room and the 'Innovation Avenue' on the ground floor.

As a group, we considered the questions on the Commission Checklist we created with professional practice lectuer, Lee Corner.

First, there was a presentation by the client herself, Liz Towns-Andrews. On the initial screen I noticed typography collage in purple, grey and blue tones which could hint at the colour scheme of the building/ company. The room where we sat (one of the commissioned rooms) was very spacious and light with bare walls. It would be ideal for a few large scaled artworks or several smaller artworks.

Once the presentation had begun, I picked on some main points presented by the client: 

• State of the art innovative work- present image of concept of 3M
• Different from any other enterprise centre that works with other businesses, partnership
• Recognised internationally
• 'Establishing in an 'ecosystem' to promote business growth, open innovation
• Access to supply chain networks- markets, finance, technologies and skills
• Networking exhibition space
• Workshops/ labs
• Meeting rooms
• 'Open innovation principle'- getting knowledge from different companies
• Innovation Avenue- dedicated equipment, complimentary to University- dedicated for business use; flexible access arrangement; presenting businesses with new technology; metrology- surface metrology

As soon as the main presentation was over, we were allowed to ask several questions. Here are some notes I picked up on based on Liz Towns-Andrews personal interests:

• Passionate- art, engineering, science
• Can use any media
• Crystallography
• Fractals
• Getting knowledge out of minds and into businesses
• Cloud computing- moving forward
• Social networking
• Fluid dynamics
• 3D printing
• Artist in residence-connection
• Biomimetics
• Art will not be permanent, perhaps a year
• Smaller pieces in meeting rooms, multiple pieces- triptych
• 20-30 works will be selected for commission
• Open to animation/ video- 3D TV could be used
• Sherat- pointillism
• Green technology
• Thought-stimulating pieces

After the client expressed her own interests, I was glad to know that she was intersted in biomimicry, a topic I had initially been working on beforehand. All of the information Liz provided was very helpful and it was made clear that the brief is quite open. After the talk, we were then taken on a tour of the building including some of the state of the art facilities used in 'innovation avenue'.

Photography taken on the tour around the Innovation Centre:

As I had already visited the building, it was very interesting to see what was behind the doors and discover all of the activities which go on inside. Although the main focus of the company seemed to be science based, I was sure that I wanted to avoid this route even though I had already chosen biomimicry as a starting point.

Overall, I found the talk helpful and will take aspects of the experience and apply them to my working commission to meet the needs of the client's brief.

X-Ray Artist: Arie van 't Riet

Further research brought me to the wonderful art of Arie van 't Riet who uses x-ray images in his artwork. His main subject is on using the natural world including plants and animals and combining them to make new natural scenes made from his x-ray imagery. These vibrant images are absolutely stunning and provides a new insight into the world of nature, focusing on what the human eye cannot see and making it into inspiring artwork. 

Here is an interesting video from Ted Talks where the artist himself explains the process of developing his artwork:

     

Beautiful, innovative imagery made by Riet:

Original x-ray image

Poppy, penstemon, rododendron 

and lizards.

Dimensions of the original siverbromide

 negative 12" x 16" . Digitised 300 dpi, 

12 bit. In photoshop the x-ray image was

 inverted and partly coloured.

Riet has inspired me to try and look at nature in new ways as a method of innovation. This links well with Biomimicry and nature is studied in a way which is beneficial to mankind, rather than extracted from its natural habitat.

Artist: Ian Phillips

Having decided to go with the theme of nature, my initial artist exploration took me to the beautiful work of Ian Phillips.

His linocut prints are original and innovative, taking nature and making it into something visually new and appealing. This approach is effective especially with his use of vibrant colours and layering technique. He also appears to simplify his landscape prints by using geometric shapes to pick out tone and texture.

"Boat wake returning home"

Original linocut

Print Size: A2 (594 x 420mm)

Phillips also explores animals in nature in his work. This simple bird with detailed, intricate patterns makes it look contemporary and unique. This interpretation of nature could be applied to my own work by simplifying forms and making detail into intricate geometric pattern.

"The Ibis of Ideas"

Original linocut

Print Size: 560 x 750mm

More of Ian Phillips' work can be found on his website at: 

http://www.reliefprint.co.uk/website_2011/linocut_pages_2013/linocut_studies.html

New 3M Buckley Innovation Blog

As we have been told to create a new blog for the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre Commission, I will focus on putting my development on the new blog and keep this blog for artist inspirations, tutorials and anything else I don't find directly beneficial for Liz Towns-Andrews who is the primary commissioner for the brief.

Here is my new blog address so you can keep up to date with my commission work for the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre:

http://3mbiccarlataylorillustration.blogspot.co.uk/

Or click image to go to new blog:

Frottage and Leaf Relief

As I chose to look into how nature has inspired innovation, I was interested in how this related to several art practices.

Max Ernst

Initially, I found a true innovation in art in the form of Max Ernst's surrealist frottage. This technique is often associated with our childhood memories, where paper is placed over a natural textured surface i.e. wood, leaves etc. and graphite is rubbed over the paper to gain interesting effects which mimic the texture of the natural surface.

Max Ernst's 'Forest and Sun', Graphite Frottage on Paper, 1931

Ernst used this technique of frottage as a starting point to enable him to build on the initial lines and markings to create inventive, surrealist imagery.

Although the element of frottage is definite in Ernst's work, it often lacks colour and tones. Often the viewer has to piece together any meaning reflected in the imagery as it seems quite spontaneous, working with textures rather than a particular subject.





Leaf Relief

Through research, I found an interesting article by Cassie Stephens based on leaf relief, which explored the simple process in step by step form. Following this article, I created my own versions using found leaves.

Process:

- Found leaves spray mounted onto mount board

- Seal with more spray mount over entire surface

- Measure foil to size and place over board

- Carefully rub the foil over the surface to bring out the texture of leaves underneath

- Using black spray paint, completely cover foil

- Wait for paint to dry fully, use metal scourer to reveal foil underneath in certain places and to reveal lines of the leaves. 

After creating my test pieces, I was pleased with the result, though felt that some of the lines were lost among the foil scratching surrounding them. To make the lines clearer, I could try using string and other various materials to create the imagery. However, I think the hint of silver with the foil gives a more sophisticated, delicate finish which I value in the pieces.

Initial trip to 3M Buckley Innovation Centre

As part of the brief, I was told that I would have to make a commissioned art piece for the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre at the University of Huddersfield. Therefore, my initial reaction was to go to the building itself to gain a better perspective of the style and layout which will help me when making appropriate design decisions.

As a general observation, I found that the building had a modern interior and exterior, but also felt quite corporate and simple. There are a lot of geometric shapes and limited colours, seemingly only grey, green and red tones. As the building suggests, it has a very professional look, though lacks any vibrancy in colour to fit into the sleek, modern finish. 

In the corridors, light projects text onto the walls and much shadow. I will need to be careful when placing my work so the reflection doesn't disadvantage my artwork and think about how it could affect the overall look of the piece. The artwork will need to be appropriate for the setting, keeping a modern feel whilst interesting professionals and creatives who work in the same building.

I immediately took initiative and asked the receptionist to forward my email to those who work in the building so I could interview them about their companies and what they would like to see in the building. So far I haven't received any emails.

Even though I have already looked at the building, the 2 week research period is strictly focused on the themes of 'innovation' and 'creativity' rather than the innovation centre itself. I will go back to researching more on the building at a later date.

New Term, New Brief! Innovation and Creativity

For the second term of University, I was set an entirely new brief where I was given a 2 week period to complete research and ideas on the topics of innovation and creativity.

Through my initial research, I found that innovation was 'the ability to generate new ideas or to restructure and redeploy old ones'. Also, a lot of innovation has been centred around new technologies created by man. This led me to think of how I could innovate my own practice and perhaps look into personal past projects to see how I could re-invent them in new, innovative ways. Themes that immediately sprung to mind were modern day political issues, experimentation, superstitions, and editorial design for magazines. However, even with these initial thoughts, nothing seemed to really grab my attention for a starting point for the project.

Group Tutorial with Ian Massey: 23rd January 2014

In the group tutorial, we were asked to present our initial ideas about the theme of innovation. However, as I was not clear about which direction to take with the project, I listened to others to try and gain some inspiration. 

After hearing others responses to the brief, I decided that as one starting point I could look into the link between nature and innovation. This interested me in the sense that on the surface, natural forms do not seem to have a part in this kind of modern innovation and are unable to innovate themselves. This led me to think about adaptation and evolution. 

Another idea that came to mind was the link between innovation and the subconscious and so I asked myself, can innovation be accidental? This triggered me to think about how I have experimented with media, made 'happy accidents' due to mistakes, and how I often find myself thinking up new ideas at random intervals where I am not consciously making a decision i.e. the shower! These subconscious thoughts have often directed my projects or at least given me starting points! 

Therefore, I found the group tutorial with Ian Massey a major help as now I have at least a couple of ideas to start off my research into the new brief!